A Game of Tag
by Metal Flowers
Summary: Parellel Universe during the Angel Experiment when Fang and Nudge are alone. Do opposites really attract? Could a game of tag turn into something more? Will Fang stay loyal to Max? Fadge Fudge, Fax
1. Chapter 1

Max had left Nudge and I after seeing a girl getting chased by some guys. I banged my head against the rock wall of the back of our newly discovered cave and sighed. Wasn't Angel more important than some random human? That girl might get a little roughed up. Angel could die, or worse.

Meanwhile, I had to deal with the chatterbox, "I mean, I'm really hungry, but Max is all like, 'Well, do you want to dumpster dive' and I was like no, and then she's like 'Then you can wait.' But I was like really hungry, you know?"

Nudge, the most talkative creature on Earth. How could Max leave me alone with her? Nudge was just so…Nudge. She talked way too much, though it was interesting to hear her talk sometimes. How was I supposed to shut her up? It wasn't like _I_ was going to fill the silence. At least she wasn't talking about some TV show. This right now, it was only a step below silence.

"If you aren't hungry enough to dumpster dive, you aren't hungry," I quoted Max and Nudge snickered. I wasn't trying to be funny. I was trying to get her to be quiet. She was so juvenile!

"Hey Fang, I'm bored. I want to fly. Can I? Will you come with me?" she asked pleadingly. I had to say that I couldn't say no, the way she looked right there. With the dying sun shining on her face, she looked soft and almost cute. While I'd normally just fly off to look for food… The look in her eyes made me wonder if she ever felt scared when I left her all by herself.

"Sure," I sighed with absolutely no excitement whatsoever. This would be boring. With an excited squeal, Nudge left off the edge of our cliff and started to fly high in the sky, "Catch me if you can!"

I thought that we'd just be leisurely flying. That's what Max always did. Max never rally participated in the flying games, so I didn't either. I was the second in command. I had to do whatever the leader did. If that included standing by when everyone else had fun, so be it. I never really had the urge to grin like an idiot while playing a silly, childlike game.

As I launched myself into the sky, I saw the appeal.

There was a new edge to the thrill of flying. I'd always flown with two gears, one being flying as fast as I can to get somewhere else, and two being just to give my wings a stretch. Chasing Nudge, I flew faster and in different ways than I ever had before. I used the feathers on the very tips of my wings to help me aim for her. Nudge was fast, I'd give her that. Who knew that the little brat was good at something?

I gave my wings one last push down and that gave me the extra boost I needed to catch up to Nudge. I grabbed her shoulders and flew so that I was rightside up and she was facing me.

"You're it," I told her smugly, finding myself surprised that I managed to catch her at all. I had never really been all that fast with flying.

Nudge was laughing, "God Fang, Gazzy could get me in half that time. You suck!"

"I suck?" I clarified, wondering if I'd heard her right. No one had talked to me that bluntly before, not even Max. To be spoken to as if I was a close friend or family rather than a stranger…it was refreshing. I smiled a quick grin that even showed some teeth before folding in my wings.

Nudge's awkward position and the fact that I wasn't flying made us drop quickly. Nudge screamed in fear at our severely dropping height and I laughed maniacally. Laughing was actually…fun when it was just Nudge and I. Nothing was forced. It was like I was free from responsibilities. How come I hadn't seen that earlier today?

"Oh my god, Fang! Let me go! You don't suck! You're really smart and cute and-" Nudge halted in her speech and her skin darkened with a blush, "Um, you can just let me fall to my death now."

Not likely. Max'd kill me if I let one of her fledglings fall out of the nest, so to speak. I let out my wings and they acted as a parachute, softening the rest of our descent, "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing," Nudge mumbled almost incoherently, her face still filling with a blush.

"This was all I had to do to make you be quiet?" I asked her softly as I landed on the ground, with her cradled in my arms, "Fluster you? I'll make sure to remember that next time."

"Um…"Nudge squeaked, but said no more. My theory was correct, then. Great.

"I'll remember that the next time I have to babysit you," I grinned at her mischievously. She was feather light in my hands (a little bird humor there for you), so I would have no problem holding her for much, much longer. I wondered why. This girl was basically nothing special, with her dark brown eyes, mocha skin, and fizzy black hair, but yet…I didn't want to let her go.

Following what my body wanted me to do, I leaned into Nudge's face. She breathed in sharply as she looked into my obsidian eyes, then didn't breathe at all. She was nervous. She shouldn't be. I was about to tell her to relax, but I just couldn't muster the words. This was wrong. I liked Max, didn't I?

Yeah, I did. Instantly, I straightened up and let Nudge drop down to the ground. She landed on her feet and looked at me questioningly. She was waiting for me to kiss her. Her head was tilted just right, so it would be easy just to lean down and-

I liked Max, I reminded myself. I'm no different from Iggy if I just switch around with who I like, "I'm going to go get some food. Go back to the cave without me."

Without another thought or glance, I left her there, alone.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't go scavenge at the campgrounds. In the forest, there's silence. Normally, I would love that, but I needed to drown out the voices. As a result, I went to the nearest town.

I walked through the streets of the town, looking through the windows of furniture stores, barber shops, and candy stores. I knew that I'd never be able to afford even a pack of gum, but it couldn't hurt to look. I continued walking.

_I really shouldn't leave her alone, _the thought slipped into my head and stuck like glue. I shook my head and pictured Max.

Max, who was my best friend. Max, who was pretty. Max, who had difficulty discussion her feelings. Max, who was my superior. Max, who was so stubborn that my position as beta was limited to merely standing by my side. Max, who had deemed me 'a friend and nothing more'. Max, who-

The School. I'd rather think about the school than continue to worry about this. Cages, the smell of antiseptic, and pain laced my memories.

"Excuse me?" a little girl with black pigtails and grass green eyes asked. This girl seemed familiar, but I couldn't recall why, "I lost my family."

I know that I should do something. Max would've talked to her. She would've told the little girl that everything would be alright. Max was good at dealing with people. But what would she have said?

It was time to stop worrying about what Max would do, I realized with sharp clarity, and start figuring things out _my_ way.

I kneeled down to the little girl's height and tried to make my face appear unthreatening, "Where did you last see them?"

"Well, they were fighting robots. They got captured and I ran," the little girl looked down at the ground, ashamed, "You probably wouldn't understand."

It was then that I saw it. The girl had scales. Her face was clear, but part of her neck actually hadgreen iridescent _scales._ Her shirt and pants must be hiding the rest.

"What's your name?" I asked her softly. This little mutant must be scared out of her mind, alone without her family.

"My name is Nox," she said nervously. Nox was probably wondering why I was taking the 'my family got captured' news quite calmly.

I nodded, "My name is Fang. I'm guessing that your family got sent back to the School?"

She nodded, looking at me with sad eyes. Something stirred in my mind, a warning, but I ignored it. I wanted to be good. I wanted to help Nox.

"Okay, then," I nodded and, for the first time in my life, made a big decision by myself, "You can tag along. My family and I are going to there to rescue a little girl named Angel."

Nox stared at me happily. A cold happy, I registered in confusion, like a cat that had just cornered a mouse, "You're a mutant?"

I nodded. Warning bells rang out, but I seemed to be rooted to the spot. The little girl's eyes held me. Her eyes seemed to change forms of green, sometimes being a minty green and at other times being as dark as her scales.  
"So you're the Fang I've been looking for," she said triumphantly. _Run_, I commanded myself, but I couldn't move, "Second in hierarchy in the Flock, Maximum being the leader. Blood type AB. You'll need to be brought to the School immediately for holding. Again, my name is Nox. I've been infused with Black Mamba DNA, and I return mutants to the School."

Maintaining eye contact, she took my hand pulled out a needle from a hidden pocket in her shirt. Beaten by a five year old, I grimaced, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I was going to go to the School, without anyone ever knowing what happened to me. Maybe Max'd rescue Angel, but she'd never think to look for me.

I was body slammed into the ground. When my eyes saw pavement instead of Nox, I could move again. Thank god.

"Are you okay?" a sweet feminine voice whispered hurriedly. I whipped around in panic. Nudge?

Nudge's chocolate brown eyes met mine and my stomach twisted with so many indescripable emotions.

Anger was the easiest to identify, "You followed me?"

"What are you doing here, experiment 15-21-4-7-5?" Nox asked shrilly, "Indigo! There's another one!"

"There's more?" I muttered, but didn't bother to find out. I grabbed Nudge's hand tightly and we both ran as fast as we could out of sight.

"Thanks for saving me," I thanked her, gasping in exertion as we ran.

"No problem."


End file.
